Introduction/Summary Compassion fatigue is the combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual depletion associated with caring for patients in significant emotional pain and physical distress (Anewalt, 2009; Figley, 1995). It is something that can happen to any nurse being overwhelmed in one or more areas of life and/or work. There are multiple ways a nurse can cope with compassion fatigue, and the article gives two great case studies. The first is of the reactive nurse who ultimately runs away from her issues but never truly fixes why she had the fatigue at all. The second is of a proactive nurse who used the resources provided to pull out of the fatigue and ended up in a better position because of it. Some keys points are made about what compassion fatigue is truly made of and how to set it apart from burnout. The key is to look at the symptoms to assist in differentiating compassion fatigue from burnout which were explained in detail in a table in the article. Once it is proven the issue is compassion fatigue interventions can occur to help pull the nurse out of that slump. This includes things available to the nurse such as Employee Assistance Programs which have many classes offered for both work and home life. Another idea is to create a comfortable, relaxing environment in a designated place on the nursing unit (Lombardo, 2011). Also having new nurse support groups within the new nurse graduate programs in hospitals to give them a chance to reflect along the way is useful. Compassion fatigue, as stated in the article, needs to be studied in its entirety and the specific characteristics and experiences need to be identified as well as what personal qualities and traits might provide protection (Lombardo, 2011). Major... ... middle of paper ... ...hetic nurse. Compassion fatigue is a real world issue in the nursing field and should be studied further to help nurses even avoid getting to that point in the first place. Works Cited American Nurses Association (ANA). (2001). Code of ethics. Retrieved from www.nursingworld.org Anewalt, P. (2009). Fired up or burned out? Understanding the importance of professional boundaries in home health care hospice. Home Healthcare Nurse, 27(10), 591-597. Figley, C.R. (1995). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. New York: Brunner-Mazel. Lombardo, B., Eyre, C., (Jan 31, 2011) "Compassion Fatigue: A Nurse’s Primer" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 16, No. 1, Manuscript 3. Watson, J. (2010). The theory of human caring: Retrospective and prospective. Nursing Science Quarterly, 1, 49-52.
It is written into our ethical guidelines, it is featured in our entry to practice standards and it is perpetuated through imagery of the caring nurse (Appendix 1). And there is no denying compassionate care is good for patient outcomes (CNA, 2010). Yet, the continual depiction of nurse as synonymous with compassion and selflessness, can make it difficult for nurses to come forward or take time off when they are experiencing compassion fatigue. In a CNA (2010) study, nurses expressed ethical distress at coming forward about experiencing compassion fatigue because it conflicted with their ideas of ideal nursing practice (CNA, 2010). Moreover, nurses felt a professional obligation to provide care for those in need despite feeling apathetic or have limited empathy (CNA,
Compassion fatigue is a complex form of secondary traumatic stress often experienced by nurses and other health care professionals due to their stressful work environment. Compassion fatigue is extreme exhaustion that penetrates all aspects of one’s wellbeing, including the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual aspects of life (Murphy-Ende, 2012). Dealing with children who are both chronically ill or in palliative care is known to be extremely stressful. Not only are nurses faced with dealing with the physical symptoms of their patients, they also must attend to their fragile emotional state and be of assistance to their anxious family members. Oncologic diagnoses can put a child and their family into turmoil. Since the nurse is the first, and most constant point of contact, they are often the ones who become responsible for ensuring well-being of the entire family throughout the ...
One of the most serious issues in nursing, that can affect a nurses career is nursing burn- out. According to the article “Where have all the nurses gone”, current nurses that are practicing, report high rates of job dissatisfaction (which is part of burn out) and 1 of 5 nurses may quit nursing in the next 5 years (Dworkin, 2002). Burnout is associated with nurses not coming in to work, not feeling satisfied when doing their job, high turnover rates and a lack of commitment to the work (Katisfaraki, 2013). If a nurse becomes burned- out, they may not take care of their patients as well and could make mistakes with medication administration. A study performed in the United States by Dr. Jeannie Cimiottti, shows that hospitals with high burn-out rates among nurses have higher levels UTI’s, and surgical infections (World, 2012). Nursing burnout not only affects the nurse, but it also affects the patient, the nurses’ colleagues, and the nurses’ family; nursing burn out often leads to emotional exhaustion and depression, that can effect relations and communication between the nurse effected and the person they are communicating with. This paper will cover what burn-out is, who is susceptible to burn out, and treatment and prevent nursing burn out.
Enhancing professional and social support, so that health care professionals can speak openly about their feelings, is vital to the prevention and recovery of this phenomenon. As stated by Austin et al., (2013), Professional relationships can make recovery from compassion fatigue easier (p. 145). Relationships with caring colleagues, administrators, and/or professional communities are essential to combating and recovering from compassion fatigue. Scheduling time together with colleagues is one strategic way of ensuring healthcare professionals are being supported as well as supporting others.
McCance,T.V.,McKenna, H. P., & Boore, J. R. P. (1999). Caring: Theoretical perspectives of relevance to nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing,30, 1388 – 1395.
Nurse’s intent to provide the best therapeutic care to their patients but in doing so, question is, are they crossing their professional boundaries? Nursing is a profession that changes according to economic viability, technological advances, and milestones in teaching and patients demands. In today’s society, nurses are often challenged with crossing their professional boundaries in decision making or ethical boundaries which is very complex to define due to the advances in technologies, higher qualifications of society and demands by patients and relative; this is a reality. Further, nurses like any other are humans and they have this skill of humanity which is both hard to gauge and never been measured.
ompassion fatigue is a real problem that many people face: doctors, nurses, and child welfare workers, to name a few. For this paper, I will be focusing on compassion fatigue as it pertains to child welfare workers. Compassion fatigue is also called secondary stress trauma, or STS. When a child welfare worker works with children who have experienced trauma, it sometimes transfers onto themselves, that is- they can begin to show symptoms of trauma or experience a lot of stress. This can affect the worker physically, emotionally, & even spiritually. Physical symptoms that can happen are: headaches, digestive problems, sleep disturbances, fatigue, and even cardiac symptoms like chest pain. Some of the emotional problems that happen are: mood
...e with compassion fatigue will be of no use to help with the patient’s emotional and spiritual needs. The emotions of both the nurse and the patient needs to be met in order to establish good communication and compassionate care between the two.
Besides, it is one of the work ethics in nursing .The nursing experts say that compassion is the heart of nursing and they advise that nursing students will develop this skill through their study periods. Compassion exceed the concept of simply sympathising with someone, but also involved a transfer of emotion likely to lead to helpful action’’ (.Baughan, Jacqui,Smith,Ann2013).I believe that in my future profession, my compassion skills will surely reduce patient anxiety and alleviate their pain as well as improve their progress through reassurance. “Compassion is an essential component of good nursing care and can be conveyed through smallest actions” (Katherine Curtis 2015).When I used work as a health care assistant in the United Kingdom I always try to spend a little time with my patients when I finished with my daily routines, in that small conversation I realised that it was a great relief for my patients from their physical as well as mental stressful situation. I believe that it is a good milestone for mine future
Compassion fatigue or caregiver role strain affects nurses on many levels from job satisfaction, decreased productivity, increased employment turnover, as well as, emotional and physical health. Compassion fatigue is a combination of physical, emotional and spiritual depletion. It may develop over time or have a sudden onset and is the result of constant overuse of compassion, caring and being concerned for the welfare of others, whether at work or at home. Ironically, the very reason that most nurses enter the field is to provide empathic, compassionate care for patients with physical and emotional needs. However, there can be a cost to caring, as nurses can become victims of the stress meeting the overwhelming needs of patients and their
Perry, A. G., & Sams, C. (2014). Caring in nursing practice. In Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Ross-
Nurses want to give complete and quality care, but are unable to, due to the constant needs of their workload and inadequate staffing. They have to prioritize their patients needs based on the most critical treatments first. Then whatever time is left, they fill in what treatments they can. Some reasons that nursing treatments are missed include: too few staff, time required for the nursing intervention, poor use of existing staff resources and ineffective delegation.” (Kalisch, 2006) Many nurses become emotionally stressed and unsatisfied with their jobs. (Halm et al., 2005; Kalisch,
Compassion fatigue is defined as “The emotional residue or strains of exposure to working with those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events” (The American Institute of Stress, n.d.). Compassion fatigue occurs when healthcare workers, especially those who work with patients one-on-one daily, feel the emotional stress of their jobs starting to wear on them. For example, a person who works with a cancer patient and watches that patient worsen and finally pass away, may experience great emotional pain. Dealing with stressful situations over time could also cause compassion fatigue. One way to prevent compassion fatigue is through implementation of Schwartz rounds. “Schwartz rounds are not 'problem solving'. Instead, the focus is on the emotional experiences of staff caring for patients and they allow staff to explore, in an environment that is safe and confidential, situations that confront them.” (Thompson, A. (2013). Schwartz rounds are like support groups for healthcare workers. They allow healthcare providers to share their struggles as caregivers and solve their strugg...
I have seen how challenging and demanding the nursing profession can be; nurses often are required to work long hours that are physically and emotionally demanding. Nurses usually attend to multiple patients, while simultaneously complying with the constant requests from attending physicians, as well as responding to emergency situations and engaging all the urgent matters that demand their attention. The majority of this
Since rehab nurses frequently have the same patients for long periods of time, they witness the patients progress made from when they first began their treatment. Although they may feel happiness once their patient reaches their maximum function, they are also susceptible to compassion fatigue during treatment. Rehabilitation Nurses are constantly exposed to patients who have lost a part of who they are due to physical impairment and who need guidance in finding coping mechanisms. As a result, they are expected to replenish patient enthusiasm and provide constant support. Many believe education, training and experience will protect healthcare providers from feeling pain or loss, but compassion fatigue is inevitable especially when dealing with emotional exhaustion from work overload and patient care (Bush, 2009, pg. 26). Rehabilitation Nurses empathize with patients who are struggling to regain function or who cannot accept their new physical condition. Not all providers and all cases cause emotional distress and burnout; rather, it depends on the severity, relationship, and work environment of a Rehab Nurse (Bush, 2009, pg. 26). Regardless, all healthcare providers should take preventative care and find their own coping mechanisms that will ensure their